title: Demographic profile of patients undergoing catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Catheter ablation is a widely accepted treatment for drug refractory atrial fibrillation (AF). The purpose of our study was to examine secular trends in the demographic profile of patients undergoing AF ablation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data for 792 patients who underwent catheter ablation for AF at Johns Hopkins Hospital between years 2001 and 2009 were systematically reviewed. There has been a steady increase in total number of procedures and repeat procedures. The majority of patients undergoing AF ablation at our institution are men (76.6%). Females accounted for 36.0% of patients in 2001 versus 19.6% in 2009. A total of 93.3% of patients undergoing AF ablation were Caucasian. The mean age of patients has increased over time (52 years in 2001 to 60 years in 2009, P = 0.015) and the number of antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) used prior to first ablation has decreased (2.3 to 1.2, P = 0.009). In addition, the mean duration of AF prior to first referral has decreased (7.8 years in 2001 vs 4.2 years in 2009).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a significant gender and racial disparity in patients undergoing AF ablation favoring Caucasian men that warrants further investigation. We also observed a significant increase in age of patients, decrease in number of AADs, and increase in number of repeat procedures. These results are important when interpreting outcomes of AF ablation and designing future trials.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Hana
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hoyt
authors.forename: Saman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nazarian
authors.forename: Fawaz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Alhumaid
authors.forename: Darshan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dalal
authors.forename: Karuna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chilukuri
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Spragg
authors.forename: Charles A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Henrikson
authors.forename: Sunil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sinha
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Needleman
authors.forename: Joseph E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Marine
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.forename: Hugh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Calkins
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000639:trends*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome